Favre would hesitate to let a son play “violent sport” of football

Posted by Michael David Smith on July 15, 2014, 7:07 PM EDT

AP

Brett Favre does not have a son. But he has talked quite a bit about whether he would let his nonexistent son play football.

Favre said in November that he would be leery of letting a son play football, and in an interview today Favre reiterated that. Favre said one reason is that he wouldn’t want his son to feel he had to live up to his father’s legacy, but a bigger reason is that Favre thinks the risks of injury are significant.

“It’s a violent sport, and for two reasons I don’t know if I’d let him play,” Favre told WDAM in Mississippi. “The pressures to, you know, live up to what your dad had done, but most importantly the damage that is done by playing. I don’t know if I would let him play.”

There are, of course, risks associated with playing football. But there are also risks associated with every other sport, risks associated with activities like bicycling and skateboarding, risks associated with putting your son in the car and driving him to school, and risks associated with the sedentary lifestyle that comes with an avoidance of risky activities.

There are also benefits associated with playing football. Favre knows that well. It’s odd to hear someone who loved playing football so much that he kept coming back, over and over again, even after saying he was retired, and immediately went into coaching high school football when he was finally done playing, say now that he’s not sure it’s worth it.

I can’t wait to see Robert Griffin the IVth play football. By the time he makes his NFL debut, his pops will have his own wing in the Pro Football Hall of Fame as the best QB and player in NFL History.

stellarperformance says:Jul 15, 2014 7:18 PM

Two years in Minnesota made him soft. Playing against the Packers for the first time and the beatdown they laid on him demonstrated how punishing the sport was. In contrast, all those years playing against the Vikings seemed smooth and effortless. For him, it’s called an epiphany.

You have to remember that this is coming from a person who has been showered with many millions of dollars, so his perception of what a dollar is worth is perhaps a little warped relative to others that haven’t been as fortunate as he has in wealth accumulation. I don’t see his perspective as being very relevant to many parents.

‘Favre said one reason is that he wouldn’t want his son to feel he had to live up to his father’s legacy”

What legacy? Taking selfies of Little Brett (emphasis on little) and sending out to women who spurn your advances? How about choking in the big spot, the last two NFC championship games he played in, the last time his losing team had the ball, BrINT throw it away leading directly to the losses. Not to mention the wishy washy nature of his decision making.

Some legacy.

mackcarrington says:Jul 15, 2014 7:32 PM

Since he doesn’t have a son, this hypothetical question is so irrelevant. Besides, his daughter bounces a soccer ball off of her head. He should be concerned about that.

We all have a limited span of time on this earth, and often times the most rewarding things we can do also come with inherent risks. Many actions that we take have a “risk vs reward” aspect to them, and for a lot of people the most fulfilling things they can do are naturally very risky…but that’s what makes succeeding in that endeavor all the more fulfilling.

*I really enjoy surfing, to an unspeakable level to be honest, and obviously there are plenty of risks involved with this activity, but the joy it provides is something I truly wish everyone could experience. I’ve cut myself badly on my fins, almost drowned, had a massive unknown aquatic creature ram the underside of my board, Ive washed up on jetties and jagged shallow reefs…etc. But when I drop in and jump inside a huge barreling wave, time slows down and it feels like I’m riding inside a dark aquatic cave, racing for the exit. The feeling of shooting out of that dark, swirling barrel back into the sunshine feels like god is shining a spotlight on you. It’s indescribable, almost spiritual bliss that makes me feel like the reward significantly out-weighs the risks involved.

shlort says:Jul 15, 2014 7:33 PM

Funny how retired players say they would be or are hesitant to let their own kids play the game.

These players already milked all the cash they could out of the game. They do not care if anyone else ever plays the game.

Hell, retired players like Favre are advocating that football not be played because it is too violent. They same game they played while ignoring the danger.

Mississippi education is far more damaging than youth football I’m sure..

packerenglishmajor says:Jul 15, 2014 7:37 PM

Hey trolls do you have any skin in the game?
It’s a lot easier to talk tough when you’re an arm chair spectator.
And what is PC got to do with brain trauma?
NFL players die on average about ten years younger than non-football players.
If you have a kid playing the game this is something you think about.

athletes that retire from a major sport have similar comments to those that retire from the military. i myself am working toward retirement in the military, but i dont know that i would want that same path for my child. there are a lot of physical and mental strains that i wouldnt want my children to go through. you can ask a lot of retired military members, most will say the same thing. when you dont have much (be it money or possessions) and you see an oppurtunity for a way to have that provided, you take it. once your in and commited and its all you know then its not as bad to fight the aches and pains. but once its said and done and you look back and think of the pros and cons, you dont want your kids (be it boy or girl) to put themselves through the same thing. granited the NFL is way to put millions in your pocket, but the long term strain that is put on your body doesnt always out-weigh that. and i think the same can be said for military retirees along with athletes. a lot of you say “well you knew what you were getting into, and you shouldve done something else with your life”. yet a soldier who VOLUNTEERS to serve in the military, knowing what theyre getting themselves into during a time of war, dies during combat and nobody says those same remarks.

rdav29 says:Jul 15, 2014 7:42 PM

He then said he thought about it and wouldn’t let him play. He then changed his mind and said he would let him play.

If anyone knows how the game can effect you long term it’s Favre. He is the last guy I’d call soft. Favre has been through addiction and now his mental faculties are not the same as they once were. If you go to your daughters soccer game and forget it, I’m sure it’s a scary thing to think about when you are still relatively young. I couldn’t stand Favre for most of my life, but consider him an iron man compared to a lot of players.

wwwmattcom says:Jul 15, 2014 7:47 PM

If your high school aged son wants to play and you can’t say no, while knowing the facts (if you do), you’re not being a parent.

People argue if Josh Gordon is a kid or not andhe’s 23, anyone want to let a 14 year old make a decision without knowing all the facts first?

upperdecker19 says:Jul 15, 2014 7:47 PM

He’d also hesitate to give his son a cell phone with camera with an unlimited text messaging plan.

packerenglishmajor says:Jul 15, 2014 7:48 PM

Most interceptions?
You’re a dull one aren’t you?
A. He played longer than any Q B . . . EVER!
B. Unless you’re one of the best Q B’s out there you don’t hang around long enough to set the interception record.

You pimpled up losers living in your mom’s basement wouldn’t know a legend if it slapped your Momma…Brett Favre will be a first ballot Hall of Famer but most of all is respected by his peers…those players that hopped on a plane to go talk him into playing one more year knew just how great he was…and so do the Hall of Fame players he competed with and against…Favre 4ever

the death of football won’t be from too much of it like Cuban suggests, it will be from the PC crowd protecting people from head injuries they willingly subject themselves to for large sums of money

pkrlvr says:Jul 15, 2014 8:06 PM

Favre soft? Lol. That may be the dumbest statement I’ve ever read on here. And p.s-he spanked the pack the first two times he played them. Bad post all around.

And of course he’s going to have the most pics. He started every damn game for 20 years! He’s also got the most TDs, starts, yards, completions, attempts, etc. Int’s go with the territory. Love him or hate him he’s a legend and first ballot hof.

stellarperformance and the rest of you loser Favre haters: Most TD passes, first man to pass for 500 TDs, 1,800 yards rushing, three time NFL MVP (consecutive years, mind you) and most yards passing career. Two SB appearances, one SB win. Played in five conference championship games. This school yard crap about texting was never proven, even though it was investigated by the NFL and FBI.

I will take Brett Favre as my QB on any team in any era. The league is a helluva lot more boring without him.

He did not say football wasn’t “worth it,” he said for HIS son. You make it seem like he hates football when you clearly list things to the contrary. Don’t take it out of the context of HIS son…. That he doesn’t have, lol.

rjwh23 says:Jul 15, 2014 8:37 PM

C’mon Brett. You’ve been coaching the kids on your high school football team for the last few years and I assume you haven’t told them to quit playing because they risk injury. Presumably, you care for them and would advise them like your own sons but I bet you’re coaching them to hit hard and play the game like your dad taught you.

bonnovi says:Jul 15, 2014 8:41 PM

I originally thought that soccer was a safer sport than football but after seeing some of those concussions in the World Cup I’m not so sure.

dcviking says:Jul 15, 2014 8:46 PM

Unless his kid wants to play for the Packers, Packer fans will cast his son out like he was devil…just like they did Brett.

To say anything else would invite a media onslaught because the media is a pack of rabid wolves when it comes to being PC.
_______________

It seems we have hit the point where people just call anything they disagree with “PC” or blame “the media.” Let’s be honest– Brett Favre was just saying what he thought when asked the question– the guy has clearly never worried about being villified by “the media” before.

stellarperformance and the rest of you loser Favre haters: Most TD passes, first man to pass for 500 TDs, 1,800 yards rushing, three time NFL MVP (consecutive years, mind you) and most yards passing career. Two SB appearances, one SB win. Played in five conference championship games. This school yard crap about texting was never proven, even though it was investigated by the NFL and FBI.

I will take Brett Favre as my QB on any team in any era. The league is a helluva lot more boring without him.
===========================

Most of us don’t hate Brett for what he did in a Packers uniform. I will always cherish most of the memories I have of Brett wearing Green and Gold. However, if you google “Brett Favre Julius Peppers Beat Packers”, you’ll see exactly why I can’t root for him anymore.

joetoronto says:Jul 15, 2014 8:55 PM

The ignorance here is off the hook, I’ll try to spell it out for you idiots.

Like it or not, Brett Farve was the toughest SOB to ever play the sport and one of the toughest SOB’s this planet has ever seen.

Having said that, he wouldn’t want his son “to try to live up to his what his dad had done, “but most importantly, the damage that is done by playing.”

In a nutshell, it’s a vicious sport to begin with, but trying to live up to the toughest SOB the sport has ever seen would involve tremendous pain and longterm damage.

Morons.

themeccalambeaufield says:Jul 15, 2014 9:00 PM

thevikesarebest says:
Jul 15, 2014 7:33 PM

7-0 Td ratio against the cheeseheads in 2 games as a Viking.the packers disrepected this legend.typical cheesehead fans.now teddy bridgewater can smoke the packers defense twice a year.SKOL

Hey troll why did you leave out the other 2 games in 2010 that Favre played against the Pack? Is it because he had just 1 TD and 4 int’s with a total qb rating of 50.8 or was it because he passed for less than 50% or because he lost the 2 games? We understand how minnesotans like to ignore the ugly past over 53 years and counting.

By the way lil tiny hands hasn’t even passed Ponder on the depth chart yet but in Kool-Aid drinking fashion Minnesota fans already elevated him to all pro status.

He made millions off the game and now thinks his opinion should over ride the dreams of others. Why didn’t’ he quit after his first contract expired. It’s like they retire only to plot on how they can continue their NFL career through lawsuits and additional money gains without playing a single down.

I bet if his son has great skills with a $100 million career, he would see things differently.

htowntexan says:Jul 15, 2014 9:33 PM

For what it is worth, my texans would trade their current crop for Brett in a heart second (but for our lawful owner, GM, and coach).

trader38 says:Jul 15, 2014 9:35 PM

Shame on Brett Favre for answering a question honestly and not in the way that satisfies Mike Smith/Mike Florio. I played football in high school and college and love watching NFL games, but I have discouraged my twelve year old son from playing. And no he’s not sitting on the couch; he plays soccer and lacrosse, and while head injuries are also common in those games at least the object is not to knock the opponent on his back. Mikes, football causes brain damage, and you’re probably not going to make less money or lose your jobs for acknowledging that fact.

Well, when your rich there are a lot of things you and your family members don’t have to do that are dangerous but tell that to the kid getting a college football scholarship that he needs in order to go to that big time school.

Most of us don’t hate Brett for what he did in a Packers uniform. I will always cherish most of the memories I have of Brett wearing Green and Gold. However, if you google “Brett Favre Julius Peppers Beat Packers”, you’ll see exactly why I can’t root for him anymore.

—————————————————-

Don’t be butthurt. Makes us the whole state look bad. I rooted against him when he was on the Vikes. Stands to reason he would cheer against a division opponent. Pales in comparison to 19 years of a kickass roller coaster ride. Come back and retire the jersey #4!!

I’m a Packer fan, and I’m not one to write vitriolic comments about a Hall of Fame Player, but a great concussive roar shall apply a concussion upon his ears when he comes back to retire his number.

He could have played for several teams instead of Minnesota, but chose to seek revenge for a decision any smart GM would have done: choosing Rodgers over Favre, who no longer could play in the cold, per his performance in two of his final three games with Green Bay.

Its lucky how easily replaced he was….but it doesnt have anything to do with him or his accomplishments. We could’ve taken Smith or some other qb and be sitting in the crapper for the next 10 years like our neighbors to the nw. Getting Rodgers was akin to Young/Montana or Manning/Luck. It doesn’t happen but once in a blue moon and to say that Favre was easily replaced is a slight on him and his career.

revelation123 says:Jul 15, 2014 11:02 PM

“It’s amazing how easily he was replaced.”
—————–

I agree, but how often does a first ballot Hall of Famer get replaced by another one?

puntonfirstdown says:Jul 15, 2014 11:20 PM

The same sport that made you rich. No one in your family will ever have to work again. Such an awful, awful sport.

It is not surprising at all to hear Brett say this. He is intelligent and he is evolving. He is thinking, reading about the new info coming out and forming a new opinion. He also is no longer coaching the high school team, at least, not officially. I am not surprised at all at this move on his part. It is probably becoming increasingly difficult for him to justify working with high school football players, especially since they are minors. In fact, I don’t even think it is wise from a liability standpoint for anyone to be a coach in football with youth under the age of 18.

It shouldn’t be played like HE played it.
Leading with the head is stupid.
Do it once it’s a 20 years foul.
Do it again your thrown out of the game.
People will get the rules and so will the players.
Get rid of the 3 point stance at the line.
Everyone starts in an UP position. Push, pull, (holding), shove.. but don’t lead with the head.
Mike Webster from the Steelers was tremendous… before his brains melted down.
What a shame.
Put padding on the outside of the helmet.
If the players don’t like it…. let them play hockey then.

kd75 says:Jul 16, 2014 4:21 AM

It like what Rocky told his son:

“I fight so you can use your head for something other than a punching bag”

I get it. wouldn’t want my son to grow up to be a back-turning self-indulgent Benedict Arnold either. Who would? I’ll bet his Dad didn’t.

guvsta says:Jul 16, 2014 6:18 AM

If only his own father had felt the same way ….

hodag54501 says:Jul 16, 2014 7:23 AM

He says this as a guy nearing 50 who has had the stuffings knocked out of him on the pro level. His back hurts, his joints hurt. There was none of this talk when I was young. Perhaps because the game was different then. People were smaller. The coaches didn’t teach you to hurt the other player, just tackle him with proper form. Football wasn’t year-round like it is now. And the WWE mentality wasn’t as pronounced now, where it’s more important to hurt someone than simply play the game. There was time to heal in a real off-season. My prediction: the NFL will be like hockey is now in about 20 years.

GettingNoRespect says:Jul 16, 2014 7:35 AM

Tomorrow he will say he isn’t leery. On Friday, he will be leery again. Eventually, he will decide on another sport, but later be leery about that sport.

packers did not disrespect favre. nor did the fans. There just came a point where the had enough of him and his little off-season act–“hmm maybe I will maybe I wont…” The front office/coaching staff had a succession plan in place and decided it was time to execute. IF they let favre bully his way back in for another year or two, we would have lost Rodgers too.

Great GM’s don’t always make the most popular decision. TT made a tough call, one that took big ol’ balls, and he made the right decision. The packers got another Superbowl because of it. Favre thought he could use his past as leverage and call the shots with the organization, and found out nobody is bigger than the team.

Nobody boo’d brett until he was a viking–he chose to sign with that team, and I’m sure he knew what it would do to the loyal packer fans.

You can’t ask a middle aged man with all the money in the world if he would let his son play a violent sport.

Favre likely thinks that he has already made it. Why would his son have to go through that pain (injuries, playing through pain, pain killer addiction, etc.) when he can already provide him with a very comfortable life. Favre knows how hard it was to get to where he was.

However, you can’t control your kids dreams. If your son is a great athlete and wants to play football, who are you to stop him. Most Dads would let them play when it came down to it.

“realnflmaster says:
Jul 15, 2014 7:48 PM
More PC garbage. I’m moving to Europe where people can speak their minds and live life the right way.”
==========================================

LOL, those doing the most complaining about “PC garbage” are typically deeply conservative. You people would hate Europe, where there is no free speech. You can actually be jailed and fined for hate speech. Also, you conservatives ought to know that Europe has *gasp* socialized medicine and education through college. People get free care and don’t have to worry about not getting things like prevenative care or owing tens of thousands for a surgery. Of course, their taxes are well over 50%. (No, I wouldn’t want to move to Europe either).

Always funny when people spot off about a son they do not have . You can’t know what you would do until the situation is really in front of you. The only honest takeaway is that he would not let his daughters play football since that is his only true frame of reference